There has been a proliferation of the application camera technology in consumer devices such as cellular phones and computing devices. Automobiles manufacturers have also increasingly included cameras as a standard or optional feature for benefits including but not limited to enhancing vehicle safety, improving vehicle maneuverability, and providing convenience to the vehicle driver. Due to a rear-view camera's ability to prevent back over accidents and thereby reduce fatalities and serious injuries caused by those accidents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will require all new vehicles under 10,000 pounds to include rear visibility technology by May 2018. Accordingly, there is a need for cost effective designs for rear visibility technology in order to comply with NHTSA regulations.
Engineers designing cameras for use in visibility technology design the camera to be as small as possible. They also aim to minimize cost and design ways to easily test and calibrate the camera. In a clean room, the camera lens typically is installed into the camera module and then a printed circuit board (PCB) is screwed to the camera module thereby attaching it to the lens as well. This method of attachment may allow the PCB to shift and leave the lens unprotected, which may also result in the lens and imager falling out of alignment. This method also may allow small particles of contamination and light into the area where the lens inside optical surface and image sensor is located. Furthermore, the subassembly including the lens, PCB, and image sensor can only be tested, calibrated, or have other assembly sequences completed in a clean room. Accordingly, there is a need for methods and apparatus for sealing the front half of a camera.